“A lot of subcultures in Japan are so distinct and iconic that they begged to be photographed, and indeed have been many times,” says photographer Irwin Wong.
One subculture that hasn’t had the exposure of, say, the lolitas or the ganguros is tanganmen – a relatively new and more underground offshoot of the kigurumi subculture, where people wear full body costumes. Intimidated by the dominance of men in that scene, the artist Ozawa Dango decided to design these one-eyed masks, and now has a cult following in Tokyo.
Wong came across them on social media, and understandably thought they would make a worthy addition to his 2022 book, The Obsessed: Otaku, Tribes, and Subcultures of Japan.
One subculture that hasn’t had the exposure of, say, the lolitas or the ganguros is tanganmen – a relatively new and more underground offshoot of the kigurumi subculture, where people wear full body costumes. Intimidated by the dominance of men in that scene, the artist Ozawa Dango decided to design these one-eyed masks, and now has a cult following in Tokyo.
Wong came across them on social media, and understandably thought they would make a worthy addition to his 2022 book, The Obsessed: Otaku, Tribes, and Subcultures of Japan.
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